WE HAVE finally found a crack in this Arsenal side.
Take away the Premier League’s best central defensive pair and, amazingly, they are a weaker side.
Arsenal coped well after losing Gabriel Magalhaes in the international break.
But without Willam Saliba there, too, there was a noticeable drop-off.
Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie are both capable deputies.
However, they have not formed any sort of partnership.
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And the duo often looked shaky, a sense which spread throughout the visiting side.
Both were booked before half-time for rather pointless incidents.
Mosquera floored Joao Pedro deep in the Chelsea half when there was no need.
While Hincapie was disciplined for an elbow on Trevoh Chalobah.
Saliba and Gabriel are a very hard act to follow.
And this performance only underlined just how impressive the two have been for so long.
RICE RICE BABY
THIS was Declan Rice’s chance to show he is the Premier League’s premium midfielder.
But even though his opposite number was sent off, we never really saw it.
Rice got stuck in as he returned to the club where he was released as a 14-year-old.
But on the afternoon we were going to see him square up with Moises Caicedo, the Arsenal man did not deliver his best stuff.
Caicedo was edging the midfield battle until he was given his marching orders in the 38th minute.
Though he managed some nice turns and balls forward, Rice struggled to have his usual marauding influence on a game.
In the two-and-fro of a midfield battle that was a pure scrap, the England star held his own but did not cause much trouble with the ball at his feet.
With Martin Zubimendi removed to allow Martin Odegaard to come on, Rice needed to drop back and marshal things from deep — which further restricted his ability to trouble the Blues’ defence.
EZE DOES IT
EBERECHI EZE exploded as an Arsenal player with his treble against arch-rivals Tottenham a week ago.
But this never felt like a game in which the cute and creative No 10 was going to shine.
There was a real touch of class from the summer signing when he cushioned a high ball and fed Bukayo Saka early in the first half.
Yet otherwise there was no chance for Eze to show his real quality.
This was an encounter very short on actual football.
There were big tackles, petty shoves and a number of crosses cleared.
It was very much not Eze’s scene.
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